KLEM News PM Update May 19, 2011

Kerry Davis of Preservation Solutions is preparing a study that may be used for a nomination of the downtown to the National Register of Historic Places.

Davis' work was funded through a state grant to the Le Mars Historic Preservation Commission.

At a meeting in Le Mars yesterday (Wednesday) Davis said she's thrilled and honored to be part of the project because of the downtown in Le Mars.

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The project is in two-phases. The first part is what Davis described as an intensive local cultural resource survey of 125 downtown buildings.

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The second phase is the National Register Nomination of a downtown historic district. The paperwork first needs state approval. The next step would be to submit information to the National Park Service for consideration as a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Davis noted that has two parts--why the district is significant and demonstrating that.

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Would a listing on the Register place new restrictions on property owners?

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The timeline is to present a nomination for Historic District Designation for National Park Service by next August.

Volunteers are needed to help with the historic study and are asked to contact the project coordinator, Mary Reynolds, Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce Main Street manager at the Chamber Office.

Davis said historic photos are also useful.

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A historic designation includes financial incentives such as rehabilitation tax credits and property tax abatement as well as grants and protections from federally funded or governed projects.

Areas on Highway 75 within Le Mars are topped with sand

(LE MARS) Sand is being placed on Business Highway 75 in Le Mars to absorb liquid from the asphalt on the roadway.

The highway surface was repaired with a process called chip seal last year. The liquid on the surface started when temperatures reached the 80's last week.

City administrator Scott Langel says experts have told him a cutback asphalt takes time to cure and perhaps the late fall application didn't allow appropriate pavement temperatures.

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The surface asphalt has been picked up by traffic. Council member Ken Nelson wondered if there was a material problem because the wheel traffic is more noticeable on Highway 75, between Plymouth Street and Sixth Avenue.

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Langel told Council member Rex Knapp adding chip seal or an overlay would be the fix to the surface problems.

Le Mars woman is WITCC "Teacher of the Year"

(SIOUX CITY)--A Le Mars woman is the 2011 Outstanding Teacher of the Year at Western Iowa Tech Community College.

Kelli Flack, nursing instructor at Western Iowa Tech, was chosen for the Teacher of the Year recognition by a committee of students and faculty. She's been a full-time instructor at Western Iowa Tech since 2003.

(Kelly Flack photo courtesy WITCC)

Dr. Terry Murrell of Western Iowa Tech says Flack's experience and vision have really benefitted her students. He explained she involves her students in learning and looks for ways to improve teaching and learning and cares about their success.

Flack is a Western Iowa Tech graduate who has earned bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing.

Data: Iowa population still trending toward cities

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) A University of Iowa researcher says Iowa's decades-long rural-to-urban population shift is becoming even more pronounced.

Jeff Schott, director of the UI Institute of Public Affairs, says 2010 U.S. census data shows that 79 percent of Iowa's population lives in cities compared to just under 75 percent in 1980.

He says the rural-to-urban trend is still evident in almost every part of the state. In 76 of Iowa's 99 counties, the percentage of residents living in cities increased compared to census data from 2000. And the state's 8 most populated counties saw a population increase of 10.9 percent over the last 10 years while the others saw a drop of 1.8 percent.

Schott says the farm crisis of the 1980s has been a major factor in the trend.

Man convicted of Bush threat indicted after escape

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) An Iowa man serving a sentence for threatening former President George W. Bush and his wife and mother has been indicted after escaping from a work release center in Davenport last month.

A grand jury issued a one-count indictment against Quinten Truitt on Wednesday charging him with escape from federal custody.

Federal authorities say Truitt checked out of the center in Davenport on April 20 to attend an alcohol treatment class, but never returned as expected. They say he removed his GPS-tracking ankle bracelet, which showed his last movement was in Iowa City.

Police officers arrested Truitt and another man who escaped at a Muscatine apartment days later.

Truitt pleaded guilty in 2007 to sending a letter threatening to kill President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and mother Barbara Bush.

Davenport residents rescued from porch roof

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) Firefighters have rescued residents from a roof over the front porch of their Davenport house.

Television station WQAD says the fire was reported around 12:30 a.m. Thursday.

Officials say the firefighters saw flames and smoke coming from the back of the house, and people were standing on the roof above the porch.

No injuries were reported. Other details aren't available yet.

The fire cause is under investigation.

Iowa deputy on leave after alleged hit-and-run

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) A Linn County sheriff's deputy from Anamosa has been placed on paid administrative leave after an alleged hit-and-run.

The Gazette in Cedar Rapids says Wednesday that 50-year-old James Cameron was ticketed on May 9. He was cited for leaving the scene of the accident and failure to stop within the assured clear distance.

Sheriff Brian Gardner told the newspaper the incident is an ``ongoing personnel matter.''

Cameron has a June 6 court date, according to the citations. There is no listing for his case on the online court system, and it was not clear if he has an attorney.

Iowa soldier injured in Afghanistan

SUMNER, Iowa (AP) A soldier from Sumner has been injured in an explosion in Afghanistan.

KWWL-TV is reporting that Army Specialist Zack Schick was on foot patrol when he was injured. Family members learned of his injuries on Tuesday.

Schick's parents say he is in stable condition at a hospital in Germany.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier says Schick is a 2008 graduate of Sumner-Fredericksburg High School. The newspaper says he suffered severe burns, a broken jaw and leg injuries in Monday's explosion.